Soba Gyoza Bento Lunch Box
I have been making packed dinner whenever my family member works the night shift. This 20-minute soba gyoza bento is made of supermarket frozen Japanese gyoza and seaweed chicken as the main meat protein. There is also cha soba (green tea buckwheat noodles) with a soba dipping sauce, cheesy sautéed kale-slaw (part of meal prep) & cherry tomatoes. With little experience in making packed meals, I used ‘safe’ food commonly seen in a Japanese bento. That will be food like soba, gyoza & fried chicken, so this was how this lunchbox came about. I’m assured that these foods keep well for a few hours and can be eaten when cold (room temperature) without reheating.
See Also:
I am using an Ikea lunch box. I like that it comes with individual microwaveable compartments. The box also comes with a small section for garnishes. And when I remove all the inner compartments I used the outer box for sandwiches.
I also made a bento for myself at the same time. My box always comes with slight variations – no soba noodles, but more cheesy kale, cherry tomatoes and gyoza to make up for it.
LUNCH BOX COMPONENTS
1. PAN-FRIED SUPERMARKET GYOZA & JAPANESE SEAWEED CHICKEN
Pan fry supermarket frozen gyoza on the pan (pictured above). Use the same pan to fry some supermarket Japanese seaweed chicken.
Rest them on a wire rack to drain excess oil and cool down before putting into the bento.
2. CHEESY SAUTEED KALE
I made a big batch of experimental sautéed kale + cabbage for meal prep a few days ago. So I used my last container of leftover kale for this bento. First, pack the sautéed veg tightly in one of the compartments, cut one piece of cheese to fit nicely over the kale and microwave for 1 minute until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle some dried parsley flakes and wow, this cheesy kale is really delicious and bento-ready. You can use any sauteed kale recipe such as this & this.
3. SOBA DIPPING SAUCE
I’m using the instant soba sauce (tsuyu or つゆ) bought at Daiso. Dilute the noodle sauce with drinking water according to the instructions in the packaging. If you have time, you can make your soba sauce from scratch. To prevent leaks when carrying the sauce bottle around, I used a GoStak (contains my iHerb affiliate link) which is leakproof. I have been using this container on weekdays to bring my overnight oats breakfast to work.
4. CHERRY TOMATOES, LETTUCE & GARNISHES
I lined the bento compartment holding the fried food with romaine lettuce leaves. When eating, I used a lettuce leaf to wrap the gyoza and cheese kale. I filled empty spaces with cherry tomatoes.There is a lemon wedge to squeeze over the chicken. Since my lunch box has 2 mini compartment for garnishes, I put spring onions and picked red ginger (beni shoga). The noodles are also garnished with a naruto fish cake. Basically, you can use anything available in your fridge. Making a bento is fun so far (if I am not too tired) :P
Soba Gyoza Bento Lunchbox Recipe
I am using an Ikea lunchbox with microwaveable & removable compartments. For the dipping sauce, use a leak-proof food container (I’m using a GoStak).
The lunch box can be enjoyed cold (at room temperature) without needing to heat up.
Ingredients:
- 2 servings (about 75g or more) dried soba buckwheat noodles
- 2 tbsp soba sauce (tsuyu or つゆ) & 6 tbsp water to taste
- 1/2 tbsp + 1 tsp sesame oil divided
- 10 frozen supermarket gyoza (Japanese dumplings) no need to thaw
- 8 frozen Japanese seaweed chicken transfer to a bowl in the fridge 30 minutes before cooking
- 2 servings (about 100g or more) cooked sautéed kale (or any sautéed vegetables)
- 2 slices cheddar cheese
Garnishing Suggestion(s)
The following garnishes are used in my lunchbox. You can adapt these garnishes to your liking & availability.
For the soba noodles
- 2 tbsp chopped spring onion
- 2 slices naruto fish cake
- 2 packet wasabi sachets (for the soba dipping sauce)
Others
- romaine lettuce leaves (to line the base for the fried food)
- 2 lemon wedges (for the seaweed chicken)
- red & yellow cherry tomatoes (or any favourite fruit)
- pickled red ginger (beni shoga)
Directions:
- Prepare soba. Cook soba in a pot of boiling water. Minus about a minute from the packaging recommended timing if you want al dente, firmer noodles.
- Make soba sauce by diluting soba sauce tsuyu (concentrate) with water according to package instructions. Portion into two leak-proof sauce bottles (I’m using a GoStak).
- Pan fry gyoza. Grease frying pan with 1/2 tbsp sesame oil. Arrange gyoza on their flat bottom and cook in the oil without touching them, until the bottom skin is browned and crisp. Add enough water to cover the gyoza halfway. Cover with lid and steam for 3-5 minutes, or until almost all the water is evaporated. Drizzle the remaining sesame oil around the pan, and pan fry the other surfaces of the gyoza briefly until lightly seared throughout. Set aside the pan fried gyoza to cool on a wire rack.
- Pan fry chicken seaweed. Add 1 tsp cooking oil to the same pan. Pan fry chicken seaweed until lightly seared. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.
- Make cheesy sautéed kale. Portion cooked sautéed kale tightly into two microwavable lunchbox compartment or a silicon muffin cup. Cut to size and cover the kale with 1 slice of cheese. Microwave at 850W for 1 minute, or until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle dried parsley flakes to garnish. Click here for the step-by-step photos.
- Assemble lunch box. Divide all the food & garnishes among two lunch boxes along with the soba noodle sauce bottles. This lunch box keeps well at room temperature for half a day.
Cooking Note(s)
- Alternative to pan frying. For the gyozas, you can also steam or deep fry them. The chicken seaweed can be toasted, baked or deep fried.
- Soba Dipping Sauce. This is the brand of instant soba sauce I bought at Daiso Singapore. I diluted 1 part sauce with 3 parts water. Adjust the ratio of sauce: water according to the brand you use. If you want to make the soba sauce from scratch, check out this recipe.